William F. Batchelder

This case involved an appeal from a probate court order terminating the parental rights of John and Jane Doe over their two minor children, Sally and Joe, and vesting custody in the state Division of Welfare, based on petitions alleging the parents' mental deficiencies or illnesses rendered them incapable of providing proper care under RSA 170-C:5, IV. The court affirmed the termination of John Doe's rights, citing evidence of his physical abuse of Sally and supporting psychiatric testimony, but vacated the termination of Jane Doe's rights and remanded for further findings. The core reasoning was that the statute requires explicit findings beyond a reasonable doubt, supported by the record, showing the specific detrimental effect of a parent's mental condition on the child before termination, and that one parent's conduct cannot be imputed to the other without evidence that no alternative arrangements are feasible. The court also upheld the admission of certain psychiatric testimony after finding that privilege had been waived through releases.

family lawprocedure

In Randall v. Riel, buyers who had made a down payment and some monthly installments under a bond for deed for real property defaulted on payments, leading sellers to seek eviction and retain all prior payments under a forfeiture clause that treated them as liquidated damages. The trial court approved strict enforcement of the clause without further inquiry. The New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that the master had failed to apply the established test for whether a stipulated damages provision is enforceable as liquidated damages or instead constitutes an unenforceable penalty. Under that test, the court directed the lower court on remand to calculate reasonable damages as the difference between the property's market value and the contract price, plus any special damages from the breach.

property

This case involved an appeal challenging the trial court's limited award of attorney's fees and expenses to counsel appointed to represent an indigent defendant charged with misdemeanor theft. The trial court had capped fees at $500 and partially reimbursed expenses, leading to a total award of $700 despite higher claimed amounts. The court decided to remand the case for redetermination of fees and costs, while amending the applicable rule to permit exceeding the fee maximum in exceptional circumstances upon a showing of good cause. The reasoning centered on distinguishing between capped legal fees and reimbursable expenses, finding that failure to cover necessary out-of-pocket expenses constitutes an unconstitutional taking and impairs the right to effective assistance of counsel.

criminal lawcivil rights

This case concerns landowners who sued an abutting owner and later-added corporate defendants for wilful trespass involving tree cutting and excavation on their property, seeking common-law damages plus enhanced (treble or quintuple) damages under RSA chapter 539. The corporate defendants moved to dismiss the statutory multiple-damages claims as time-barred by the two-year limitations period in RSA 539:8, because the conduct ended more than two years before they were joined, even though the plaintiffs first learned of the damage in spring 1980. The trial court applied the discovery rule to allow the claims to proceed; on interlocutory appeal the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that the discovery rule applies to these tort actions for harm to real property, so the limitations clock begins only when a plaintiff discovers or reasonably should discover both the injury and its likely cause. The court remanded for a factual finding on whether the plaintiffs exercised reasonable diligence in discovering the wrongdoing.

propertyproceduretorts & liability

In this divorce case, the wife appealed a master's recommendations, approved by the trial court, that the marital home be sold with equity split equally and that the husband have no obligation to support her daughter from a prior marriage. The court affirmed, holding that a professional degree earned during the marriage is not a divisible marital asset absent specific financial contributions by the other spouse, and that any statutory stepparent support duty under New Hampshire law ends upon dissolution of the marriage absent adoption. The decision rested on the master's broad discretion in equitable property distribution after considering the parties' economic circumstances, incomes, and contributions, as well as precedent that a graduate degree represents only potential future earning capacity rather than a present asset. The court also aligned with the majority rule in other jurisdictions that the stepparent relationship and associated support obligations terminate with divorce.

family lawproperty

In Morrill v. Webb, the plaintiffs sued the defendant for willful trespass to timber under RSA 539:1 after the defendant directed a contractor to cut trees on the plaintiffs' abutting land due to an erroneous boundary instruction, despite later warnings and available maps. The trial court found the defendant liable, awarded $1,400 in actual damages quintupled to $7,000, and the defendant appealed on grounds including the burden of proof, sufficiency of evidence for willfulness, and failure to credit a $1,000 settlement with the co-tortfeasor. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the finding of willful trespass, holding that the action is civil (not requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt) and that the evidence supported willfulness based on the defendant's failure to verify boundaries despite accessible information. It reversed in part on damages, ruling that the settlement must be credited against the total quintupled award rather than actual damages alone, resulting in a $6,000 judgment for the plaintiffs.

propertytorts & liability